The present invention relates to a sterile covering or barrier protective liquid, gel, material or film and, more particularly to a method of using such a material to create a sterile covering for fingers, hands, arms or other selected skin surface to act as glove substitute.
During surgery and other medical procedures sterility is essential to prevent contamination and the spread of diseases, bacteria and viruses. Likewise, it is also essential that hand coverings do not limit the surgeon's or medical personnel's feel and touch, e.g. tactile sensation, when performing a medical procedure or examination. In addition, areas like the food industry, salon services, dentistry and a wide variety of other manufacturing and specialty services require protection for themselves and their patients or clients.
Most commonly, surgical gloves, e.g. latex gloves and non latex polymers, are standard and used during surgery and other procedures. However, the use of surgical gloves may be a cumbersome process when putting on and removing the gloves, creates a great deal of solid waste and may be overkill for certain smaller procedures. They also create a tactile barrier to the sensitivity or the surgeon or person wearing the gloves. While there have been improvements in the strength and thinness of these gloves, they nonetheless tend to be thicker than desired, adding to diminished tactile feeling of the surgeon or medical personnel. There is also increasing medical evidence to show that most patient infections originate from the patient's own skin verses the surgeon's skin. Therefore protection is needed for both the operator and the patient or client.
Artificial skins have been developed that are used to treat sores and wounds on a patient. Such artificial skins may be sprayed onto the skin or applied topically to particular areas of the skin. However, such artificial skins are not well adapted for surgical uses, as they do not necessarily hold up and are not durable enough to a function in a surgical environment. Further, they do not provide for an adequate barrier of protection, and in addition may not prevent bacteria from growing on the surface as a biofilm.